Tenuous Bonds of War
by inkysplots
Summary: The lines drawn by war are about to be blurred as two souls find comfort, if only for a night.


Neville paced slowly up and down the hallway opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, hands tucked behind his back and head down, brows furrowed in thought. He found his thoughts drifting from the room the resistance needed, and gently shook his head, fringe falling in his eyes, to help clear the wayward thoughts. He turned and saw a door materialising out of the stonework and reached for the handle that appeared to grow from within the wood of the door.

"Did it work?" "Hurry up Nev!" Hushed voices squeaked through the silence from around the corner, as the rest of the resistance shuffled through the open door and into a large room littered with desks, hammocks and trunks from their dorms. Neville smiled and gently touched the stone wall as if in gratitude before turning to address the room.

"You all know why you're here, Harry's gone to find a way to destroy You Kn-...Voldemort," there was a collective intake of breath as Neville paused to compose his nerves. Leading had never been his strong suit. "And Snape and the Carrows are running this school into the ground. We need to stay strong, and keep our spirits up. There's a battle coming, I can feel it." His face twisted into a grimace at the last part and the faces of the people, no, the children before him, flickered with fear. "Cheer up you lot, it is Christmas tomorrow!" He forced his voice to sound positive, although he wasn't sure it worked. He was saved from anyone noticing as the room suddenly popped with festivity. In the blink of an eye there were giant fir trees, snow falling from the ceiling, tinsel and lights strung around the pillars and a crackling log fire by the far side.

As he watched the members of the resistance exclaim in delight, he said a silent thank you to the castle for saving his behind, and took in the joy in the room. "Seamus! No fire in here!" He started towards Seamus but the wizard flashed him a cheeky smile and held his hands up in defeat. Ginny was organising the girls into levitating decorations onto the trees, the younger students had found a pile of wrapped presents under one of the pillars and were excitedly rooting for name tags, and one seventh year squealed in delight as a tray of butterbeer appeared on a desk. Neville's heart felt warm, but like there was something missing. As he leaned against the stone walls, he felt their chill seep into his bones despite the fire, and let his mind drift to the thoughts he had so determinedly put out of his mind earlier.

Draco was spending Christmas Eve skulking around the Slytherin common room like a tense porcupine, anger and anxiety uncharacteristically rolling off of him in waves. Crabbe and Goyle had gone home for the holidays along with nearly every other Slytherin. He, however, was being kept prisoner at Hogwarts due to the wishes of the Headmaster. Snape had swept down from his office to see Draco the week prior and told him that Hogwarts was going to play host to several influential families this Christmas, including the Malfoys. As such, Draco was required to stay back and help organise. "Isn't that what house elves are for?" He had scoffed with as much derision as he could muster, which had quickly wilted under the glare of his former head of house.

Which was how he found himself sprawled across the leather green couch, head and feet lolling off the ends, shooting sparks into the dark green ceiling. The day had been spent arranging tables, cutlery and convincing the elves that they did not want food for children. How far the mighty Draco Malfoy had fallen. At least there was no-one here to witness his humiliation. Except…..No. He sat upright on the couch and summoned his bookbag, refusing to let the thought cross his mind. The thump of the bookbag into his chest jolted him out of that dangerous train of thought and made him wince slightly. Rifling through it, he was startled to hear another voice in the common room.

"Whatcha doing Malfoy? Playing servant again?" The sneer on Pansy's face was mixed with delight at having something over him, for once he was not the infallible king of the dungeons. Draco's face must have betrayed the anxiety he felt, as the sneer on Pansy's lips curved even more upwards. "Come now Draco, you can tell me surely. Did your father finally get put in Azkaban?" Draco let out a near inhumane snarl and threw the bookbag over his shoulder as he made to stalk off to his dormitory. A perfect dainty hand on his arm stopped him in his tracks.

"Sorry Draco, that was uncalled for. But what is it? You've not been yourself all term," Her head was tilted upwards, eyes searching his as the grip on his arm tightened. Like a vice, Draco thought, and something coiled unpleasantly in his stomach. "Leave me alone Parkinson," His eyes turned icy as he spoke her surname. This caught her off guard and caused her hands to fall helplessly back to her sides. With a swirl of his robes, he was gone.

Neville watched the owl preen its feathers, turning the note over in his hands, trying to overcome the indecision. A neighbouring owl took a sharp peck at his fingertip, which Neville took as a sign of 'get on with it or shoo'. With a sigh, he re-read the note over and folded it with determination. His breath hitched as he attached it to the more friendly owl, not wanting to release the contents into the world. The choice was taken out of his hands as the Owlery door banged open, startling the owls and sending Nevilles letter off to the outside, firmly clamped in the beak of an owl."Bloody hell Seamus, what are you doing here?" Neville's hand went to his hair, a tell he knew his roommate knew was one of anxiety and shame.

"What've you done this time mate? Nothing too serious?" When Neville didn't laugh, he pressed on. "A crush, is it? You'll have to tell me who the lucky girl is!" Seamus knew he had struck gold when Neville's face flushed bright red and he dipped down to tie his shoe. With a hearty clap on the back, Seamus sent his letter off and left the Owlery. Neville stood upright, scanning the windows before darting to the one overlooking the dungeons. He watched as the owl circled over the lake, a tentacle breaking the surface to wave at the messenger, and as it carried on down to the Slytherin windows and out of sight. Neville could feel the anxiety coiling in the pit of his stomach, which worsened when the sky became overcast - the sun was going down, he didn't have much time.

Out of the Owlery and firstly to the kitchens to see the house elves. He'd inquired earlier that day and they had assured him they could make up what he required. Neville skidded around the corner, panting and out of breath and seeing double of the fruit bowl painting. He took a few deep lungfuls of air and walked over to the fruit bowl, reached out a hand and tickled the pear. The doorknob twisted and inside he felt a wave of heat hit him square on, followed by several small house elves clamouring around his knees to speak to him. "Uhm, hi….is Winky around? She said she'd have a picnic basket for me," A large basket glided over the tops of the house elves and being deposited at his feet, and Winky stood beside it. "Thank you so much, I don't know what I was going to do otherwise…." He trailed off as Winky reach to hug his leg, and blankets and hot cocoa were being passed to him from the other elves. "Mister Nev must go or he'll be late for his date!" Winky squeaked, shoving him towards the door. Neville said his thanks and hustled out of the door, he had a long way to go to set things up.

As he reached the top of the astronomy tower, he bent double and tried desperately to catch his breath. "Why does the place have so many bloody stairs," he grumbled at the stone walls around him, before turning the corner onto the terrace. With a flick of his wand, the blanket was laid out, and cushioning and warming charms placed upon it, the basket of food tucked discreetly out of sight; all that was left to do now was wait and see if he showed up. Neville took a nervous glance at the moon, creeping over the treeline of the forest, spreading a beautiful pale light over the blanket. He heard footsteps and whipped his head around to look at the door, moving to block the view if the person was not his intended.

The owl had arrived just before sunset, and the evening meal he was about to order from the elves, assuming they still respected him by this point. The sharp rapping at the dormitory window ahd gone ignored by Draco for several minutes, he was far too engrossed in lying face down in bed and trying to shut the world out. Eventually he was afraid the bird would destroy its beak trying to get inside the room, so with a sigh, he pushed himself upright, slipped off the bed and opened the window. The owl was not best pleased for it left several sharp nips in his hand before allowing him to retrieve the letter. Once taken, the owl promptly pecked him again and flew out of the window.

Draco recognised the handwriting on the note, and he sank involuntarily onto the bed as he opened the letter. It was brief, and not what he was expecting. His hands shook slightly as he lowered the note into his lap, and he had almost made up his mind not to go, when a large groan of protest came from his stomach. He was very hungry, and this was food with company. With still slightly shaky hands, he smoothed down his hair, changed into something long sleeved and slowly made his way up to the astronomy tower.

As he reached the top of the stairs, a figure cast in shadow was blocking the way. Upon seeing him, however, the figure melted back into the moonlight, and Draco could see it was Neville. A wave of relief passed over Draco as he realised Neville wasn't grinning like a lunatic, he looked, stoic almost, which warmed Draco to see. At least we can be miserable together, he mused, as he crossed the last few steps and into the terrace. "Would you sit? Please." The please was almost an afterthought on Neville's part, making Draco wonder what had gotten him so preoccupied as to forget his manners.

Draco obliged him, however, and was pleasantly surprised to find the blanket warmed and cushioned. He removed his shoes, and sat cross legged at one side of the blanket, watching Neville pace slowly at the other side. "If I have to sit down, you do too Longbottom," With a weak chuckle Neville dropped to sit besides him and whispered, more to the floor than anyone else, "Don't you think we're a bit past that, Draco?" He knew it would make him tense up, that Draco would want to flee but he needed him here tonight, so they could celebrate properly for once.

Neville could almost feel the tension slide out of Draco as his shoulders slumped forward and his head fell into his hands. "I...I guess you're right. I'm so used to keeping up pretenses and…." He trailed off as his hand unconsciously moved to rub his left forearm. Neville watched quietly, needing Draco to open up on his own before he could prod and pry. The moonlight was shining onto Draco's face, making his already pale skin seem deathly white, and the watery eyes Neville knew he was trying to hide from him were glinting under his pale eyelashes. With a heavy sigh, Neville turned and pulled out the food and butterbeer the elves had packed and placed a cheese and onion sandwich in front of Draco. "C'mon, I know it's your favourite," he smiled as he nudged the sandwich towards Draco who in turn let out a watery chuckle. "I know things are pretty doom and gloom right now, and we might not both live out this war - stop it, I said both of us - so, why not enjoy a night under the stars? It is nearly Christmas," Neville scooted closer to Draco and leant his shoulder against his, both grateful for the touch of another human.

"Hard to argue with that logic," Draco chuckled around a mouthful of sandwich. "I hope we do both survive the war," he added quietly. Neville reached and squeezed Draco's hand before intertwining their fingers. Both let out a small sigh of comfort at the gesture, one they'd rarely been able to do in the school. Draco shifted so his head was resting on Neville's shoulder and gazed up at the stars. "I can't believe you were so mean to em in potions," Neville said with mock affront. He felt Draco tense up, and gave his hand another reassuring squeeze. "Keepin' up appearances, y'know…" Draco mumbled into Neville's shoulder, the sandwich left half eaten and forgotten in his lap.

"Tell me again which stars your family is named after," Neville said with a slight grin. "You know I love hearing about them," "They'd disown me on the spot if they knew, Neville," Draco muttered darkly, the name sounding strange and foreign on his lips. He definitely liked it though. He obliged Neville and began regaling him of tales of his family names, pointing out the relevant constellations as he became less of the shell he wa when he walked onto the terrace. Neville hid a small smile at this development as he reached for the butterbeer in the hamper. He leaned past Draco to get to where it was stashed, and pressed a small kiss to his temple, shocking Draco into silence.

"Don't let me stop you, I was really into hearing about Andromeda," Neville said with a shit eating grin as he passed Draco a butterbeer. "I...I'm just a bit thrown for a loop…" he stammered out, but he didn't move. Draco quietly unscrewed his butterbeer and took a swig before turning cross legged to face Neville. "This is all very new to me….I…" he paused and anxiously ran his hand up the back of his neck. "Look at me," Neville asked softly. "This is new to me too. And….I don't know what the war will bring. But I know I want to spend what little time we may have, together." Neville reached up and ran his finger along Draco's jawline, fingertip tracing the faint line of stubble as Draco kept his gaze on Neville's green eyes. "I know you're scared too," Draco tensed at this, and Nevilles free hand came to squeeze Draco's, the thumb brushing over the back of his hand to soothe him. "You have so much more on your shoulders than I could ever dream of. I shouldn't be adding to that weight," Nevilles hand moved from Draco's face to his free hand, taking both of them in his. "I want to make you happy. And for you to have a space to unwind and let loose," Neville gave Draco a small smile as he caressed his hands.

Both leant inwards for a hug, rising onto their knees and wrapping their arms around each other, heads buried in the embrace of the other. Neville pulled back first, moving to press his forehead against Draco's, their breath intermingling between them. Neville went to move a lock of hair out of Draco's face, but was beaten to it by the feeling of Draco's lips pressing against his. Neville felt a grin spread across his face, as he kissed Draco back with enthusiasm, enough to knock Draco backwards onto the blanket. They broke apart laughing as Neville worried over Draco's head. "Are you sure you're alright? I heard a pretty loud thump," "Trust me, I'm more than alright," With a smile, Neville gestured for Draco to lie next to him.

Draco shuffled into the crook of Neville's arm, and lay his head on his shoulder, absentmindedly rubbing his left forearm still. With a dissatisfied grunt, Neville moved Draco's arm to wrap around his waist, and cast a silent warming charm over the blanket. Neville kept peppering kisses onto Draco's temple as the pair watched the stars dance throughout the night, even catching a meteor shower as the moon rose high in the sky. At some point they fell asleep, wrapped in each others arms, content to forget about the war until the morning.


End file.
